IP Address versions 4 and 6

an IPv4 version has 4 fields each separated by a period. If you look at it's binary equivalent this is actually how your IP address is stored digitally. And all numbers and letters are stored digitally this way in memory either in your computer, at servers or in mainframes acting as servers.

The entire Internet is mostly made up of home computers or business computers and a world wide network of small or large servers which might function at various speeds. All the different kinds of software like Apple Software, PC software or things like UBUNTU are translated by TCPIP or Transfer Control Protocol Internet Protocol which allows different kinds of operating systems to talk to each other worldwide.

However, through the IP address of your computer many people on earth can track where you live, that you are one of (several people) who live at a specific address) or if you live alone with your own private wifi. etc.

IP versions

Two versions of the Internet Protocol (IP) are in use: IP Version 4 and IP Version 6. Each version defines an IP address differently. Because of its prevalence, the generic term IP address typically still refers to the addresses defined by IPv4. The gap in version sequence between IPv4 and IPv6 resulted from the assignment of number 5 to the experimental Internet Stream Protocol in 1979, which however was never referred to as IPv5.

IPv4 addresses

Main article: IPv4 § Addressing

Decomposition of an IPv4 address from dot-decimal notation to its binary value.

 

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IP address